Sign 'O' The Times

Sadly, I just don't really get the appeal of Prince. Sign o the Times is certainly one of his better albums that I've heard but it still doesn't rise above "sure, that was fine" territory for me. The only album of his I've ever actually liked is Purple Rain and yet I've never been able to explain why his music doesn't hit for me. He's certainly astonishingly talented as a musician and a prolific composer but his songs still rarely do it for me.

I thought of Purple Rain as good but slightly overrated, so I wonder whether this is overrated too. It sounds less dramatic and more rooted in classic funk than Purple Rain was, being more politically and socially charged. The sound is more stripped-down, with a focus on rhythm and lyrics rather than theatrical crescendos. The rhythms are fairly catchy, and the album's minimalist sound works somewhat in its favor. Prince's vocals, especially on tracks like "Housequake" can be annoying at times but are usually tolerable. The lyrics contain just the right amount of humor and political messaging to make them engaging yet palatable(though there are some weak spots). This is a pretty good album that, again, falls just short of masterpiece level.

It's great, but Prince gives into a lot of his hokier instincts on some of these songs. Then again, his hokey instincts gave us "Starfish and Coffee," so you do you Mr. Nelson.

something that really impresses with me in music, something I put an unreasonably high premium on, is when an artist has minimal outside involvement in the creative process. Prince is the encapsulation of this. He is such a genius. This album is awesome, so groovy, catchy, and keeps you hooked with the "slow burn" element of every song. Love the lyricism as well, feels more raw and kind of self aware. Love The Cross. This is definitely the most perfect 80 minute album I've listened to. It feels like 40 mins. So groovy and really locks. a Prince concert would've been a top tier event. Might be in my top 10 of concerts I wish I could have been to. Feels like this is easily his most influential album also more accessible. and I put an unreasonable premium on influence as well.

Amazing musician. Too much Prince for a double album

Nothing about this album stood out to me. Could have been cut in half and maybe it would have been a tighter/more enjoyable album. I like Prince, did not like this album

Classic Prince funk-dance

Prince is the evolution of a lot of bands, performers, and music I love. He's an evolved Funk Pokemon. All of his work is funky, guitar-rich, pop music with the treble turned WAY up. I enjoyed, "Sign o' the Times", "Starfish and Coffee" & "If I Was Your Girlfriend". "It" was pretty wild and "U Got the Look" is the Prince-y-est Prince song that ever Princed. Out of everything else, I wasn't a fan of "Housequake", "Slow Love", or "The Cross". The rest was ok. I believe that "Purple Rain" is his best work, but on the whole I enjoyed this one. An easy (4/5) from me.

I am a fan of Prince's work, but perhaps too casually for an endeavor such as this. There are some great tracks here, but as with so many double album projects, it could have used an editor to chop out some of the fat. There's a variety of sounds here that all carry his indelible signature, and some decent experimentation that is worth a listen, but it still feels bloated and skip-worthy in places. Sign O' The Times, U Got The Look, and I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man are the real highlights for me, and It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night would is a fun and pretty solid live jam session, making it a solid 3.5/5 that I'd have rounded up if I hadn't had to dig through so much mediocrity to get to them.

Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 3 = 4.4 rounded down to a 4 "You've got the look, you've got the hook. You sho'nuf do be cookin' in my book/ Your face is jammin'/ Your body's heck-a-slammin'/ If love is good, let's get to rammin'" When you look at people who wrote, performed, and sometimes produced their own work, in my mind Prince's only competition in the realm of the great solo creative forces in pop is Bowie and Dylan. Stevie Wonder and Madonna are in the conversation as well. Taylor Swift might be as well, but I am wholly unfamiliar with her work. There are a ton of other great and talented people, but these stand heads above with their mass appeal, sustained quality, legacy and influence. I exclude guys like Robert Smith who I think really did rely quite a bit on their bandmates. It's kind of arbitrary, but here we are. Prince's first 10 or 11 albums ( I'll count half the Batman soundtrack) are pretty unimpeachably good to great, and I struggle to think of an act with that many successes in a row. The Beatles I guess? He's also a prime example of a dude whose deep cuts will mop the floor with the best of a LOT of other acts. This album in particular is not my favorite, and in fact I think gets just a smidge too many laurels ( not that it is undeserving - it's still pretty great) as it leans hard into all the tropes that music critics like so much, and will grasp onto to avoid having to elect a more mainstream ( but better) album as a "work of genius". "See how off the beaten path we are? Not everyone can make these fine distinctions" is the message I get when this happens. In some cases they are mostly right - The Cure's Disintegration comes to mind, but it does slightly annoy me. THE TRACKS Side one "Sign o' the Times" - What a start. Easily the most well known song on the album. Prince at the very tip top of his game, this is maybe his substantial hit. From here forward he would continue to drop bangers, but they got thinner. When I think of Prince I don't normally think of him stepping too much into the "social ills" arena, but this one hits hard without feeling cliched or slightly embarrassing like some. That synth bass line will live forever in my brain. "Play in the Sunshine" - Here's one of those great deep cuts I mentioned. Bouncy, groovy, and catchy as hell. But it'll never hold a place in the culture like "Let's Go Crazy" which it compares pretty favorably to. And coming right after the darkness of the previous one sends a message that this album is going to be a cornucopia of sorts. He even throws in the "Shave and a Haircut" melody in there without ruining things. That's fucking BALLSY. This is Prince unbound, and completely free. Whether that plays out completely to his advantage though, we'll see. There are three more sides to go... "Housequake" - Prince going full on Ruby Rhod here, a good ten years before Chris Tucker would take the role originally intended for the his purple majesty. This was a throwaway bit of fun. Silly and yet supremely funky. Prince's P-Funk influences are rarely turned up this high. "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" - Weirdly warbly lo-fi sound form a guy not really known for this sort of thing. Feels so out of left field musically, but also yeah... I can see it. This pre-figures some of the kind of weird musical choices that Outkast would thrive on a decade plus later. It's hard to imagine his purpleness thinking something like this would fly on mainstream radio though. Side two "It" - Very stripped down sound here, but still pretty danged effective. More and more elements are added as we go along making it feel paced out and never too busy. Those now cliched synth hits that pop up in a million other songs make it feel a little more generic and dated that some other stuff though. "Starfish and Coffee" - At times pretty and whimsical, this one has a fine groove to it, and feels like a bit of a lark in the vein of a Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds. He's definitely taking advantage of the space accorded by the format to spread out and explore every avenue that comes to mind. "Slow Love" - And we get our first slow jam. Prince can go full horndog when he wants , but there are plenty of classy pieces like this to balance out his boudoir numbers. This is one of the latter, and it's got a shit ton of hooks. "Hot Thing" - And he immediately moves into the middle ground here where all the sex is realized in the music itself. The vocals and the dirty sounding drums do the work the barely suggestive lyrics can't. This is Prince painting by the numbers. It works. The elements are all there, it's just barely there. "Forever in My Life" - This was also fine, but is carried almost entirely by the vocals as the barest of instrumentation kind of makes this one feel like a gussied up demo. Side three "U Got the Look" - This is more like it. One of the few I remember seeing a music video for off this album, and the confidence to put all that weight behind it as a single is completely understandable as it's a jam from beginning to end. An assist from both Sheena Easton AND Sheila E.! ( who I would often confuse with each other as a child). Hilarious lyrics, great vocal hooks. Just below the top shelf, but it'll do just fine. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" - Bit of musical gender play from the royal one, with an assist from production to pitch his voice up, this one was apprently salvaged from his "Camille" project where the idea was for Prince to release a full album under a female pseudonym. It was scrapped, but supposedly might get released in the near future. An interesting experiment that isn't 100% successful I think. But it's still pretty good. "Strange Relationship" - Loved the instrumentation on this, with some unique flutey sounding synths providing the foundation for a boppy little opposites attract story. "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" - I love it when you get a joyous and upliftingly catchy song that tells a deepy sad story. I eat that bittersweet shit up! And hand claps to top it off. Pure pop perfection. This sits on the shelf right next to "When You Were Mine". Would also favorably compare this to Rod Stewart's "Young Turks" which hits a lot of similar notes for me. The instrumental bridge maybe goes on a tad too long, but that's nitpicking. Side four "The Cross" - The most beautiful and emotionally affecting song on the album. Also my favorite vocals. Prince manages to evoke some of the stuff Stevie Wonder was so great at, without sacrificing any musicality for message. Beautiful. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" - Had to check if this was recorded live, and it was. Though likely with a bit of studio sweetening after. Every live performance I've seen by the man looked like it was a true event, and never a dull moment. This gave me strong P-Funk vibes, and I can see why he chose a live cut. Studio cut would have killed that atmosphere ( but probably still have been a strong entry). Was Prince the first to use the Wizard of Oz chant in a song? He certainly got there before Metallica and LL Cool J... "Adore" - We end on another slow jam. This one's a bit more of a traditional 70s throwback, and Prince is steeped in that stuff so he knows what works. And this works. HIGHLIGHTS - "Sign o' the Times" - "Play in the Sunshine" - "Starfish and Coffee" - "Slow Love" - "U Got the Look" - "Strange Relationship" - "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" - "The Cross" - "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" - "Adore" MIDLIGHTS - "Housequake" - "It" - "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" - "Hot Thing" - "Forever in My Life" - "If I Was Your Girlfriend" LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS More or less as I remembered it. Not my favorite by the man, but chock full of a zillion good ideas, anchoired by his always on point instincts. I believe this man probably has one of the lowest miss rates of any popular musician of the last 60 years. He's might not be pulling in Ty Cobb numbers, but he's a top tier slugger, and he rarely strikes out. His worst stuff is still interesting. This album does not have a single turd on it, which is an accomplishment on a double album. And the stuff I ranked as middle of the road is still very solid work, some of which might get a step up if I wasn't grading on a curve. There more than a few albums by Prince that I enjoy more than this one though. I think even with all the lesser stuff taken out this still would only be a 4-star from me at the end of the day. He's just got SO much better stuff. And as much as I do love the man's output, he has so many goddamn amazing songs that there's enough to fill a 3 disc best of. Those are Bowie and Beatles numbers. Nothing to scoff at. This came at the tail end of a classic run of albums, and this feels like a man stretching out his arms and enhoying the fruits of his labor. It's got life, it's got some messages, it's got earnestness, and it certainly brings the groove and the funk. It just isn't Purple Rain. Sorry. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Nope FURTHER LISTENING - Ice Cream Castle by The Time - The Family by The Family - Vanity 6 by Vanity 6 - Sheila E. by Sheila E. - Jill Jones by Jill Jones - A Private Heaven by Sheena Easton

To quote one of my friends, I think I like the idea of Prince more than I like Prince’s music. He has a confident and uncompromising stage presence. He has deep musical interests and it shows in the art he makes. He also makes a lot of music. Those are all awesome characteristics that I can respect. And yet, I did not jive with this album. It is a completely new listen for me. I went in knowing three Prince songs if you ask me, maybe less than a handful in my deep memories if pressed. None of them were on this album. The good is I think Prince is a singular artist. No one sounds like Prince. The bad is his unique sound just doesn’t seem to resonate with me. I tried.

Nice. Storytime op school quootten een vriend en ik altijd ironisch "zeester met koffie" van een belgische hertaling. In theorie wist ik dat dat een nummer van Prince was, maar hij pakte me toch ff. "We waren allemaal heel gewoon, behalve cynthia roos. Het ging niet om haar gekke naam, maar om haar boterhammendoos" frfr🙏🙏

oke heb gister al m'n zegje gedaan! maar hij is natuurlijk wel goed enzo!

Listening to this on an evening walk in the park is actually peak. Groovy disco melodies with very strong lyrics as well—perfect evening outside of the mosquito bites.

ja geweldig

Preferred the second disc

3.5 rounded up

The music in the background was good, but I didn't really like the singer

I can appreciate Prince as an artist, but I’ve never really liked his music. He’s insanely talented, amazing guitar player. His music just never really jived with me. This is unfortunately still the case with this album. A couple songs are good, but for the most part I didn’t get into them. It’s very well produced, and the instrumentation is great. It’s also too long. Some editing down would probably help a bit. Overall, the album is just fine.

Not really for me, but inoffensive enough to be on the fine side of meh.

Can only think that the sex and drugs talk was controversial for the times. Musically it's crap.

Prolix

I still don't get it. This was twice as long as the last one as well which means it's getting rounded down

prince is talented. RIP.

Never was a Prince fan. I see the talent, but just not my cup. Wish he hadn’t offed himself. Such a waste.

They say he was genius. I still don't see it. I do like a few tunes of his though. Nothing from this LP.

Ended up being a new favorite. Listened twice throughout day. Just got better.

Prince halt..

Very well produced, some sick ass sax solos in there. Really didn’t speak to me.

Bonk (complementary).

muy variado en generos y temas, no me encanta igual

Albums like this are why prince is such a legend.

Having never heard this I expected something excellent. Instead I got something just ok and very long

I think this is my favorite Prince album. Starfish and Coffee is always a standout track for me.

The track ‘Sign O’ The Times’ is such a great track and is difficult to better as an album opener. However, my underlying issue with most Prince albums are the tracks that go too far across the line and are just loose jams. Enjoyable yes, but i dont need an album stacked with them. Toward the end of ‘Play in the Sunshine’ the drums make me expect Bono to start singing’Sunday Bloody Sunday’ After this we enter the aforementioned jam tracks. It all feels like he needed someone to rein in the genius a bit and provide some more focus to it all.

Not my favourite Prince album my any means (I still have that to look forward to), but obviously this is very polished. I’ve just never understood the fuss about it overall. The title track feels very stripped back, relative to the rest of the album, which allows the lyrics to shine and do exactly what it says on the tin - offering a blistering commentary of the state of the world in the mid-to-late 80s, covering AIDS to nuclear war. Generally speaking, the remainder of the tracks do nothing for me - the exception being “U Got the Look”. I’ve never understood how it came to be that Sheena Easton duets on the track - but it works, and I’ve always loved its catchiness. It, and the title track, are by far the two standouts. I don’t really mind the “Camille” section either - “If I Was Your Girlfriend”, particularly. But, aside from the mentioned tracks, this album is largely a let down for me.

On the last Prince album I was somewhat surprised to find I didn't really like it. It was really samey over the length of a full record, so I wasn't really looking forward to this. And then I looked at the running time and my enthusiasm dropped even further. Some stray thoughts: - The title track is fine but doesn't really build to anything. - Rhyming "lets jam" with "green eggs and ham" is a choice, but Housequake is very funky. - this is extremely 80s. - I liked The Ballad of Dorothy Parker backing vocals, but it was again very meandering. - by the time I got to the song It, it became fully apparent that I wasn't really going to like the second Prince album on the list. - the weird whooshing noise on Starfish and Coffee was **horrible** - I very nearly fast forwarded through it. - how did Prince become such a massive star? These albums are so dull for 90% of the run time. - U Got The Look just made me sad that I wasn't listening to The Look by Roxette. Another artist the generator has taught me that I don't like, I just thought I did. A grudging: 2/5

it's fine. If this was put out by some random Britpop group or a random person in the 80s, this would easily be sub-3. But it's Prince so reviewers have inflated the rating.

It may not be the best Prince album (for a start, like just about every double album, it could be cut down to an absolutely killer single album, but Sign ☮︎ The Times is still The Purple One operating at a level that's close to his peak, and that's reflected by the high points of this album. "U Got The Look," and "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" especially are tracks that remind you just why the mid 1980s was Prince's imperial era.

I received this from a record club on cassette. I was in 7th or 8th grade and while I liked the album OK (and LOVED "U Got the Look,") I was not ready for it. It didn't immediately grab me like Purple Rain had. I knew nothing about the social issues Prince was singing about and musically I had veered hard into metal and punk, where I would mainly stay for a few years. It was not until revisiting this album years later that I recognized the genius here.

Another quality album from Prince - not in my top 3, but still excellent

Not Prince's best work. Nothing will beat Purple Rain for me

Muy larga la versión deluxe pero buen disco

Prince is good. He has attitude and charisma bursting out the seams, he has musical talent also bursting out the same seams, I don’t know how he keeps his clothes on with all this overflowing talent. Maybe that explains the assless chaps. Sadly, however, I don’t really love the music itself - maybe it’s just not my genre, maybe I just wasn’t of that generation, but either way, it just doesn’t land for me. I think 3 stars is fair, considering all that.

i have the utmost respect for prince and there was def a song or two that was added to a playlist from this album, I am just generally not a fan of the 80s sound. I respect it a lot cause i understand its significance, but to me it really feels like it’s peak feeling is a “you had to be there” type of thing

great prince album, some strong highlights. a little bloated but still a banger, 9/10. 1st time listen tracklist ranking: 1. Adore 2. Sign “☮︎” The Times 3. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man 4. Strange Relationship 5. If I Was Your Girlfriend 6. Slow Love 7. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night 8. Hot Thing 9. The Cross 10. It 11. U Got The Look 12. Starfish and Coffee 13. The Ballad of Dorothy Parker 14. Forever in My Life 15. Play in the Sunshine 16. Housequake

Minus points for being a bit overstuffed and having some pretty dated production, but I still enjoyed this more than I expected to. I've never been a huge Prince appreciator, but he was obviously quite talented, and he was trying some stuff here.

I dare you not to shake your ass.

I'm a shameful Prince noob but this album still blew my tits off. Leave it to Prince to write a song that does such interesting things with gender like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and also a straight-up Christian Rock song "Cross" and include them on the same album and it works, somehow???

is that MC Chris?

Prince is exceptional.

A full sonic tapestry, folding in influences as far afield as Joni Mitchell, early hip-hop, classical Indian music, and the psychedelic soul of Funkadelic and Rotary Connection. I likewise hear the ripples in pop music this record has made in every direction, from the more obvious examples (D'Angelo and the Soulquarians) to Mac Demarco and Quasimoto. I need to frame it in comparisons because there are so many things happening on this album. I had my favorite moments: "If I Was Your Girlfriend," "Adore," the clever response-then-call on "Forever In My Life," and especially the rapturous odyssey of "The Cross." But the work as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and together the songs created a vivid world of experience.

Very soulful start followed by silly pop which I just can’t get into no matter how much I try. I enjoy the “Casio Vibe” of some of these beats like “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker”. It gives it the lo-fi sound which most definitely the intention. Prince’s ability to harmonize with himself is so impressive. Disc One finishes strong(even with its silly tunes). I’d have to say the same for Disc Two. Personal preference has me leaning towards to no frills tunes like “The Cross” although I did enjoy “I Could Never Take Place Of Your Man” with it’s killer guitar solo. 3.5 rounded up

Not for me

Of course I know who Prince is. I have 21 songs already liked by him on Spotify. 9 of those are from Purple Rain - which makes it a perfect album for me. Then some from 1999, Around the World in A Day and Parade. And I have 2 songs already liked on this one - "Sign of the Times" and "The Cross". After listening 3 times ... I had to look up what "Starfish and Coffee" was about. The backstory is really sweet. The groove in "Hot Thing" is great. The extended guitar jam part of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (starting around 4.5 minutes in) makes up for the cheesy 80s synths sounds in the rest of the song. "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" - good funky jam. Recording this live was a good idea - it captures the spirit of it really well. Funny that he uses the "Oh Oh, Oh We Oh, Ohhh" - which I believe comes from the Wizard of Oz - it's what the wicked witch's army men sing when they are marching - haha. Also - the speedy rapping part is different for Prince. "Forever In My Life" - great love song I ended up liking 8 "new to me" songs - which includes the 5 mentioned above plus "It", "Slow Love", and "Adore" I forgot how good "The Cross" is. I'm not even religious, but the song has a great vibe - music and vocals. I love how it starts quiet and brooding and then ramps up - starting at the end of the 2nd verse when the drum beat kicks in and then slowly expands and speeds up into an all out jam after the 4th verse (around 2:26). This is the best song on this album. "Sign of the Times" is a very close 2nd. I find the voice he uses in "Housequake", "U Got the Look", "If I Was Your Girlfriend" to be way too annoying. It's wild reading the Wikipedia article. Prince played practically everything on here - with a few extra people playing specific things on specific songs. This guy was gifted for sure. I definitely hear influences on this such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and even The Beatles. Liking 10 songs on a single album would usually mean it's a perfect album - but since it's a double album there are too many clunkers mixed in. This album reinforced my general opinion that most (not all) double albums have too many less good songs alongside some great stuff. I think this fact actually turned me off from this album back in the day - the songs I didn't like distracted me from the actual good stuff. But - I'm glad this project got me to re-listen to this all the way through several times - I found a lot of new to me songs. Good job Prince! Liked songs on Spotify: 10/16 Rating: 3/5

I've never really listened to Prince, despite knowing lots of people love his music. This is funky and fun, but did sound like was mixed in the 80s. I'd probably enjoy it more with a heavier focus on the instruments.

This album has some of my favorite Prince songs on it - "Starfish and Coffee" the title track, "U Got the Look", the gospel wigginess of "The Cross" - and the dubby, vacuum-of-space production was peerless for the time and still sounds great. The record is a lot and gets mired in some of the ballads, but it's among his best. Maybe second after Parade for me.

Stylistically it’s all over the place, as if Prince had all the time in the world and few constraints in his home recording studio (not sure whether Paisley Park was officially live yet), feeling unshackled from his former Revolution backing band. The sound is a little more spartan than previous releases, owing largely to the use of drum machines. It also feels a little transitional, foreshadowing the influence hip-hop would have on his work in the coming years and also conveying a sense of wariness as the ’80s grew long in the tooth. But man, there are so many bangers. Prince really just couldn’t miss at this point of his career.

Except for 1999, almost every Prince double album needed a 15% haircut, but no one wanted to tell Prince that. Most of this is pretty good though.

I like a few of Princes albums, but this is not one of them. It's pretty middle of the road

Okay.

Love ❤️ Loved!!!!

an enjoyable mix of funky pop mixed with rock. Prince's smooth and unique voice added on top. there wasn't a single song that changed my world, but definitely and album i'd enjoy listening to again

Again some nice tunes

Always loved Prince; he's in my personal Mount Rushmore of musicians for sure. Great album, loads to it. Adore was my fav song and first listen. I Could Never Take the Place Of Your Man and The Cross were my other highlights

good 80s! a bit long

Mid level but still great Prince.

I prefer the guitar-driven, more poppy Purple One than his more funky stuff, but there’s some good stuff here like Starfish and Coffee and Adore

I live in MPLS - where loving prince is practically a religion- but I only really love purple rain as an album.

Best Song: If I was Your Girlfriend Prince is always welcome. I don't like this album as much as Purple Rain but it is still really solid. 4/5.

I never know what to do with Prince. One one hand he's mega talented and I guess I get why people like him. On the other hand, I really don't like very many of his songs

A creative force throughout his career.

Não consigo, é muita coisa solta num saco sem fundo. Pra mim ele tem ótimas músicas, mas não bons álbuns. Acho que prova que ainda não me livrei por completo do meu desgosto pelos 80s. Mas acho que tô quase lá, garanto que grande parte é culpa do Prince.

I thought this was pretty good. Way ahead of its time. I hear hip hop influence and some indications of what came as far as the 2010s with the genre, as well as the R&B sound of those like Frank Ocean. There were some stinkers for sure, but overall a good listen.

Prince at his most charismatic

Some say his best album.

Way better than I was expecting. I love all things Prince, but all mainstream '80s music was just..... ugh! And, as prolific as Prince is, you're bound to hear some garbage every now and again. Consider my prejudices removed.

Sympa en fond, trop homogène pour moi, j’écouterais pas pour le kiff dans les ecouteurs

Prince is one of those artists with great songs rather than albums. This is often called his best but it’s mostly made with a Linn drum machine and a Fairlight synthesizer, two of the worst sounding instruments ever, making it hard for even the best songs to come out listenable.

i've never purposfully listening to price, it was fun but I wouldn't put it on again. i did like "if i was your girlfriend" a lot but there was a weird part of the song i didn't like so I didn't save it. I also liked "adore" but not enough to save it

2.5/5

I thought this was a pretty good R&B album, but it's not my favorite Prince album. There were a few good songs, but there was also a decent amount of filler. It probably won't be my go to when I want to fire up some Prince.

I was never that much into Prince and giving this the time of day was maybe a confirmation of boundless talent and a knack for showing it off while simultaneously making music that's broadly uninteresting. It's weird to have songs that are clearly crafted and at the same time not finding much joy in them.

Nice

There's some decent songs on here but far far too long. He also tries some novel stuff and half of it doesnt work out.

Rien a gardé

I was expecting more...

R&B, Funk e uma pitada de soul que faz minha cabeça mexer. Não sei se gosto mto do fato de ser usado uma drum machine, mas é definitivamente interessante (Deixa algumas musicas artificiais). Muitas músicas boas, mas algumas ficam perdidas no meio do álbum. Linhas de baixo MUITO envolventes. No geral, um álbum muito diverso

I heard nothing here to make me think Prince is the musical genius others claim him to be.

4.5/10

I’m glad this came up because I never got into Prince, although people I knew well were big fans. But maybe it was a train you needed to get on in real time, because although I listened diligently it really doesn’t do anything for me. The drum machine base of many of the songs probably doesn’t help - an innovation of its time that sounds quite dated now.

Brilliant funk all the way through, not quite as catchy as purple rain but it's a lot more interesting. The Cross, Starfish & Coffee and Adore especially are so good

Did not like this as much as I thought I would

trop inégal

They had to name it "The Minneapolis Sound" because even *they* knew that all Prince's stuff sounded the same. Why does everything have that clunky drum sound and a similar arrangement. And the shreaking. And be too long. I bought the follow up to this, Lovesexy, in 1988 and really liked it. But that was before I grew tired of the thuddy drum machine, the synthetic band and the screeching. Sorry mate.

Prince has range. I don’t think I’d ever really listened to any of his discography. Only listened to side a, some songs I liked and some I would not choose to seek out again

it's not bad, but maybe hard to get into. big chaos energy. like with rem, lacking context for what world this album landed it changes things a bit.

Such a great album. I saw it in the theater! I would say Purple Rain is definitely a masterpiece, but this is pretty darn good. It is funny this came right after Jimi Hendrix. Both guys are masterful musicians, but I do think Prince plays a lot of other instruments as well as all the writing and producing.

Perfect

This is one of my favorite Prince albums

I really want to like this but it just drags out and is a bit boring. Nothing necessarily bad but like does Prince have good albums? Really doesn’t seem like it. Just listen to It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night and that’s all ya need. I liked Adore too.

Alright

Not really my type of music though I like some of his other stuff.

I like Prince a lot. Probably my third fave album of his after 1999 and Purple Rain

Prince can't seemingly make an entirely cohesive album. He gives you a good song or two and then makes the rest medicore

Third Prince album for me, and I could just cut and paste my notes on "1999". This is another, what I call, kitsch-pop album. I wouldn't call it funky, because I'm missing those driving bass lines and syncopated drums. In fact the drums (or whatever machine the beats come out of) are what really bother me. Book-tchack boom-tchack boom-tchack, pfff, booo-ring... There are a few great songs though. I love Sign O' The Times. The Cross I like musically but not the preaching. Starfish and Coffee is fine. But there is, again, a lot of filler. I guess I'm just not a Prince man, don't get a lot of his music, don't get the whole "sex" aura surrounding him. A three star, for the few good songs, and his talent.

Lo intentaré en un futuro.

This album won a Grammy, who knew. I didn't like every song but liked most of them. I look forward to hearing more Prince albums on this site.

Pretty good but not nearly his best. Love the atmosphere and production

I was expecting a banger, but honestly I wasn't that impressed by this album. Sorry, Prince.

Cute

pretty good album, did enjoy it. Didn't have any huge hits for me.

Quality

It’s Prince! Might like Purple Rain a little more but still great

I only knew 2 of the songs, but I liked listening to all of the others because … Prince!!

It would be a 5 star album if it was just Sign ‘O’ The Times for every track

Brilliant

Sign o' the Times, It, Slow Love, Forever in My Life, U Got the Look, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

tranquilo

It's Prince. It's good.

I love Prince's voice and he always puts his entire soul into his performances. This album just... fell flat. Not a single standout song.

Damn we lost we lost a real one in Prince.

1 extra Stern für Martin

Sign O The Times is an absolute banger. The rest: not so much. A mess different genres that never gets to the point. And the album is way too long. Drums sound fantastic though ... at the time of release, the LM-1 was already a thing of the past and nobody aside from Prince was still using it. This has really become a staple sound of his, and the lo-fi yet full-bodoes crunchiness sounds lovingly retro.

This operates on a completely different level of control and vision. The minimal drum programming, the sharp melodic instincts, and the constant stylistic pivots all feel effortless, even when they should not. What makes it stand out is how stripped down many of the tracks are, yet they still feel full and expressive. There is no excess here, just precision and imagination working in perfect balance. It is one of those rare records where experimentation, songwriting, and emotional impact all align without compromise.

Can never take the place of the Man. There is troubles big and small. I guess it's just a sign o' the times.

I was expecting better, almost looking forward to this one. But no, I didn't like it. One okay song, "The Cross", "Forever in my life" was embarrassing. 2/5

fine!

It's kinda like 'Breaking Bad' where you have to get 6 episodes in before it really starts to take off. That's a sign to me that this thing is bloated and could've used an editor. But boy when it gets going, it really gets going.

fun album,

This album made me realize that I like individual songs by Prince, but not entire albums.

..

I think I’m finally starting to “get” Prince…

pretty horny but really tasteful, great grooves and excellent guitar tone works just as well when it surrenders to funk rhythms as when it stops to whisper slightly risqué ballads in your ear this man is the pinnacle of overflowing talent in every sense; im glad to be able to tackle such an intimidating discography from such a prolific artist, forcing me to dissect it on my own terms every song has its moments, and every performance elevates the tracks to give us something much greater than the sum of its parts

180 albums in and I finally get my first Prince album and an interesting one at that. Even though this album is more stripped down instrumentally than other albums I'm impressed that Prince manages to make a drum machine groove harder than most human drummers. I think that just speaks to his talent as a musician. However, even though I think there are some bright spots on the album, this album feels more like a collection of songs rather than a cohesive album. At the end of the day while I enjoy the different styles that Prince showcases the album shows, once again, just how hard it is to make a good double album. 3/5

Even as a massive fan of the Purple One, I’ve always found Sign of the Times to be too long. It does contain some of my favourite Prince tracks but isn’t an album I rush to put on.

Disc 1 - 3/5 Sign O'The Times - 3.5/5 Play In The Sunshine - 4.5/5 Housequake - 4/5 The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker - 3/5 It - 2.5/5 Starfish And Coffee - 4/5 Slow Love - 3/5 Hot Thing - 2.5/5 Forever In My Life - 3/5 Disc 2 - 3/5 U Got The Look - 3.5/5 If I Was You Girlfriend - 3/5 Strange Relationship - 3/5 I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man - 3.5/5 The Cross - 4/5 It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night - 4/5 Adore - 2.5/5

Catch up #12 October 21 2026 This is a tough one to rate. I enjoyed the album on a superficial level, but I didn’t connect with it much more deeply. There’s certainly a lot of music that has paid homage, borrowed from, or otherwise been influenced by this album, especially neo retro acts like Bruno Mars. Despite its length, it’s varied and quite listenable, and the time cruised by. Prince was super talented, and I’m looking forward to more of his stuff in this project. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Bon, honnêtement, album incroyablement mid. Je m'abstiens tout de même de parler de déception étant donné le peu d'attentes que j'avais placé dans le projet, mais lire à son sujet qu'il est "l'apogée" de la carrière de Prince, ça place d'hors et déjà un cadre assez exigeant. Pour ma part, j'ai trouvé que l'album avait tout de même quelques points forts, notamment dans la variété de sonorités, alternant entre New-Wave sur des morceaux comme "Housequake", avec des passages plus calmes comme sur "The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker" ou "The Cross" avec un travail sur l'ambiance et la guitare acoustique. A l'opposé, on retrouve des morceaux comme "Play in Sunshine" ou "U got the Look", bien plus énergique, avec des morceaux de guitare électrique beaucoup plus denses. L'album possède donc un plutôt large panelle de sonorités radicalement différentes entre elles. Néanmoins, ce choix artistique a une répercussion à mon sens très conséquente sur le projet, le rendant très hétérogène et composé de sons hétéroclites, en plus d'un très mauvais sequencing, rendant le tout au final assez brouillon, comme un amas de différentes inspirations allant de Phil Collins à Eddie Van Halen. De plus, je trouve que certains éléments récurrents dans l'album lui donnent une ambiance complètement dépassée notamment le coté "électro" de certains titres comme "Sign O' Time", "Housequake" ou "It" qui donne au projet un coté extrêmement dépassé et vieillie. En résumé l'album n'est pas mauvais, mais vraiment pas très marquant, assez dépassé, à mon sens beaucoup trop long, et oh mon dieu bordel de merde la page Wikipédia de l'album est l'une des pires que j'ai lu de toute ma vie, l'écriture était incompréhensible.

Yessss! Finally. I've always wondered if there would be a Prince album I would love. I've never ended up completely liking his records. But this one is flawless. It starts pretty mid but... it builds up so quickly. Each song is better than the previous one. And the second part of the album is fantastic, so enjoyable, so funny, so lively, such a masterpiece! I've loved this album. So much. It's a great record with so many fantastic songs. In just one word, it's great!

I’m a big fan of Prince, but surprisingly only heard the title track and U Got the Look. I’m gonna be honest, this album intimidated me a bit at first. I always worry with double albums that I’m gonna feel like they drag on. Luckily, I didn’t get that feeling with this one. It honestly didn’t feel like 1hr 20min to me. Sign "☮︎" the Times has a bunch of great, funky moments, including the live track “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night”, which I honestly wasn’t expecting to like as much as I did. What a fun addition. And it balances out nicely with ballads like “Slow Love” and “Adore”. I don’t know how hot of a take these are gonna be, but I found myself enjoying disc 2 more than disc 1, and I wasn’t much of a fan of the Camille tracks. But all in all, this was a really great listening experience. Favorite tracks: Sign o’ the Times, Play in the Sunshine, Starfish and Coffee, Slow Love, U Got the Look, Strange Relationship, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, Adore

its my least favourite prince album cuz its so long and inconsistent and i dont like the way every song quite sound the same not gonna lie great project still

This was ok. I was listening to it while resting/sleeping, and so didn’t take all of it in. 6.5/10

Sprawling, indulgent, maximalist, too much. And nonstop kick ass genius. Prince was so on. Starfish and Coffee has a large chamber of my heart, but almost all the songs are perfect.

I owned this on vinyl when it came out and liked it okay. Youth is wasted on the young: this album is much more amazing than I remembered. It might live in the shadow of Purple Rain. It’s baggier and less cohesive, but honestly it’s not a second too long. I adore all the sides of Prince on display here: the funk and soul and new wave, and the weird trippy screams that are his hallmark.

It’s pretty great. I’ve heard it a couple of times before and didn’t appreciate how many great songs are on it.

Very experimental album, not particularly my taste. Saved 2 songs, with one having an amazing guitar solo

genioo

It’s Prince so it’s a mix of compositional genius and being straight horny!!

It's smooth, it's funky, it's a little self indulgent but it's Prince so that's ok.

If there's one thing this album convinced me of, it's that Prince was a genius when it came to instruments and using his vocals in line with the instrumentals. Everything flows together beautifully and while this might not be my favorite album ever, it definitely shows how talanted Prince really was.

I didn't always love the songwriting on this album, but what I did love was it's unique energy — especially on the more upbeat tracks. Listening to some of these songs honestly feels like being pulled into an 80s house party where you can imagine Prince stomping around doing a one man band act like in some kind of corny feel-good movie. The guy was larger than life and this album is a monument to that. It's fun, it's funky, and it's even surprisingly thoughtful at times. I wasn't a big fan of the slower, ballady songs though. It does feel like he was trying a little too hard to be Mr. Sensual Lover on some of those tracks, but maybe that's just my straight male ass being impervious to his charm. The other main issue I have with the album is that some of the songs seem to continue for a couple of minutes past the point where I feel like they were squeezed of all their juice. If I Was Your Girlfriend is guilty of both of these complaints of mine; I really wasn't a fan of that one. Probably would have given this a 5 if it was just a little bit tighter of an experience. Favourite Tracks: Housequake, U Got the Look, It

like better than purler rain

Have I listened to this album before? No How familiar am I with this album? I know some songs How do I feel about this artist? I like Prince a lot Favorite song(s)? U Got the Look, Play in the Sunshine, Housequake Overall Thoughts: It makes sense that this was other abandoned albums pieced together, like the Camel from Parks and Rec. It all came together very nicely though. Kept me on my toes, and had especially interesting guitar parts (sometimes I’ve been waiting for). Listened to Part 1 at work and Part 2 later in the bath. Hot Thing has no business being as long as it was or even on the album at all.

Some grating tracks but overall an enjoyable listen

3,5 to me. It is missing something to be a 4 album in my view, but its a good one.

Prince es Prince, fin del comunicado.

Pretty amazing

Loved this record - not quite timeless, but a very decent listen.

nah

What can I say, it’s prince, it’s good

Tja, det er Prince, men det fangede ikke min opmærksomhed.

good stuff. two discs. sounded a bit the same after a while.

I knew the title track, which describes the tragedy of that time (and not much has changed); but the rest of the album did little for me.

This will be my first listen to this album in its entirety. I bought every piece of Prince wax I could put my hands on until about 1987, but experienced this album's songs primarily from the EPs and singles I found during this time period, so looking forward to it listening to it all!

5/10 Very hit or miss for me, I liked disc 1 a lot better than disc 2.

266/1089 first 2 tracks were decent, very dated to the 80s but not entirely negatively. Housequake is dated to the 80s in a distinctly negative way imo okay, The Ballad… and It were good but then it goes to Starfish and Coffee.. Hot Thing is also NOT IT this album is SO hot of cold to me, Forever in my Life is really nice and tbh would make a good closer for the album, so i’m intrigued that it goes on further okay disc 2 was good, and deserved to be there i think faves: Forever in my Life, Strange Relationship, U Got The Look 71/100

- I'm really not a Prince fan, couldn't make it through the album!

This was a originally supposed to be a three-LP album that Warner Brothers mercifully cut to two, earning the Purple One's enmity until his eventual departure from the label a decade later, but I wouldn't have minded if they had trimmed it even more. The first LP (or CD) is has very little to recommend it. "Starfish and Coffee" is a nice little song, but that's where the highlights end for me. The title track is a morose stab at social commentary and everything else is forgettable, and a lot of it feels surprisingly unpolished compared to Prince's usual work. Things pick up immensely on the second CD with "U Got The Look" thanks to Sheila E.'s punchy percussion and Sheena Easton's energetic vocals. I also enjoyed the distinctively funky "If I Was Your Girlfriend," the bouncy "Strange Relationship", and the pacy "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man" (my favorite song on the album). "The Cross" has some guitars and drums high in the mix, but unfortunately it's Serious Music and just thuds along rather than rocking out. A live performance of "It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night" feels out of place on this album but it's fine. Energetic and funky, and it passes it's nine minutes amiably enough. "Adore" is a highly-polished slow jam R&B number that isn't my kind of music, but I can appreciate the craft here. Prince's vocals really shine and the arrangement is impressive. In summary, take the first CD and use it a coaster. The second one is where it's at. If the second CD were a single album, I'd give it four stars, so we'll just dock it a star for wasting my time with the first CD and call it done.

I feel like I finally get Prince’s genius in a deeper way than I ever have before. His genius is in layers. First there’s the sheer volume of content of a certain quality. There is almost an hour and a half of music on this “standard” edition but undoubtedly it was selected from an even deeper well of material. Then there’s His Sound. Complex layers of rhythms from syncopated drum machines, synth melodies, funky guitar riffs, and, if he so chooses, some bass. Prince at his best, for someone that is capable of anything, shows incredible taste and great restraint in what he chooses both to include and to omit in the pursuit of a compelling groove. Once he’s found the groove we find the next layer of his genius: he can write great fucking songs too. Seldom gratuitous, often brilliant, sublime, nuanced, catchy as hell songs. He so accomplished at writing songs in fact that his choice is to sometimes completely forego His Sound altogether and paint with a different brush just because he fucking can. That’s not always as successful in my opinion because sometimes he really nails an imitation of a genre I find inferior to his own, like the misplaced Christian rock-tinged “The Cross”. All-in-all though this is the most consistently likable and listenable set of Prince masterpieces I’ve ever heard assembled. My personal favorite stretch begins with “Hot Thing” and closes with the hit “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” which is almost an album’s worth of incredible content for a lesser artist. The self-editing could have cut a little deeper overall in my humble opinion and the critical omission of 2, maybe 3, songs from set would have made it a stronger album experience.

Prince’s magnum opus. There’s nothing I can say about this album that hadn’t already been said. IYKYK.

Love u prince muah

Really great album, not really any standout track but the whole thing is great. Could be cut down quite a bit though

never heard this one before! but prince is a musical genius and this was a banger as per usual for him. very groovy and fun

Las partes buenas muy buenas pero el resto medio aburrido. Puntaje: 6/10

445/1089 - I only liked "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" which apparently had faulty recording due to little high-end frequencies. I respect Prince for his musicality and multi-instrumental mastery but I am not a fan.

Not as good as purple rain but still solid

prince n é pra mim mas n me importaria se ouvisse tocando numa festa a primeira música me deixou esperançosa mas só caiu a partir dela ⭐sign o the times barely 21? ok

I've tried to get into Prince before and often bounced off his stuff, never disliking it but never being grabbed by it. This is probably my favourite of his stuff though, I feel like I get the hype more from this, the songs are a bit more hard hitting, less love ballads on the tracklist.

Prince is great. For some reason, the album just wasn't giving me that electricity that I usually associate with him.

“C’mon, it’s Prince.” That’s not a cop-out — it’s a recognition that some artists operate at a level where the usual critical frameworks feel slightly inadequate. Sign ‘O’ The Times is the fullest expression of what made Prince extraordinary, and spending sixteen tracks with it is less like listening to an album and more like being taken on a tour of a very large, very strange, and completely inhabited musical universe. The range is genuinely staggering. The stark, minimal title track opens the album like a quiet alarm — social collapse delivered over a drum machine and almost nothing else. From there Prince moves through gospel, funk, psychedelia, rockabilly pop, children’s songs, and devotional slow jams without ever losing the thread. “Starfish and Coffee” is a completely sincere children’s song that has no business working as well as it does. It leads directly into “Slow Love,” one of the most sensual things in his catalog, with a horn arrangement so restrained and beautiful it stops you cold. That two-track sequence is the whole argument for his genius compressed into eight minutes. The closing stretch delivers on everything the album promises. “The Cross” builds from quiet acoustic beginnings into something almost arena-sized and completely unguarded. “It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night” releases the tension with pure groove and joy. “Adore” closes the whole thing with a devotional love song that asks for nothing except your full attention and earns it completely. A generous five — and a reminder that generosity is sometimes just honesty wearing a warmer

not bad, some of the songs are kind of a miss but overall pretty good

i don't understand why this is prince's most critically acclaimed album when i think that, for as much as there are standouts (the bass in "ballad of dorothy parker" was very nice) with interesting instrumentation and it is impressive as a solo effort, to me it fails to cohere as an album and more a scattering of disparate songs. this is most noticeable on a thematic level in that it opens with a very politically pointed song (the title track, even) yet the rest of the album is very far from that. a lot of these tracks needed to be shortened, broadly worked on more, or simply combined because there is so much repetition in content and form that it made for a slog to get through. even the moments where a flash of brilliance is witnessed, to me it felt drowned in the monotony of everything else failing to congeal into something enjoyable.

Not as good as the last Prince Album. I don't know why but it just feels like Prince isn't having as much fun here as other albums and it bleeds into the music. This is meant to be the socially conscious Prince album and I can hear it, but I don't think it does enough. The stripped out production, even the singing especially on the Camille tracks, just doesn't pop as much as it did before. I enjoy U Got the Look most, but I'm stuck in comparison mode with the previous Prince album I listened to and its just not there.

Totally out of my comfort zone. I know is good one but not my style

Prince is an artist that’s never clicked fully for me. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s his voice not matching what I think it should ride like on some of these dancy/poppy songs, it’s a similar problem I had with the Janet record on here. My dude can shred on a guitar I’m hoping I can hear more of that and less of this squealing. I saw the deluxe had 92 tracks and that was enough of a jumpscare for me today. I guess my takeaway here is I can at least respect Prince for doing everything his way for better or worse, you can clearly tell there’s suit and ties forcing a direction here. Favs: slow Slow Love, U got the look, if I was your girlfriend

Just stop your crying it's the sign of the times... wait wrong artist. Anyways WOWOWOWOW Prince is an artist and knows how to make a pop album like no other. I think Prince is way more exploratory and experimental than most pop artists of his era and that is due to me never getting tired of his sound. Slow love is such a highlight I bet the live version of that song is amazing it is everything you want in a prince song. It is slow and musically distinct and sounds perfectly of its time yet still fresh and it is such a love song god. Prince is sexy and his music shows that Starfish and coffee what does that even mean and why is it so catchy. There isnt a song here that I dont like. I love this, and I thank the woman who showed me this.

Maybe the best purple album

TRASH

-I mean its prince -got lots of songs with raw voice, very focused around vocals and beats -cool bass -funkyyy -got some horns in it too -chanting too -also got some chill funk songs in between, so its not all too much -also got the 80s sound -some cool voice effects on it -although it has upbeat funk it also has emotional moments or rock moments, so I really feel like its telling a story -ends on a good song "Adore" that really blends elements of the entire album well -got a few unusual but chill songs for prince -3 or 4 gems, like real real good songs, good song abundance

Muy bueno

7/10- it’s a strong 3 for me. I love the sound of the album and it’s easy to see that he is often used as a source of inspiration for other artists, but this album is too long and I find more than a few songs to be not going anywhere. Not my favorite prince album but not a bad album by any stretch of the imagination.

There's nothing bad on this album but there are too many songs. Listening to this I also realize how many people are trying to rip his sound off and it sounds so much worse when they do it. 8/10

thought this was pretty fire

okay geet favorite song: play in the sunshine

Prinssi. Minä en ole koskaan päässyt prinssiin sisälle enkä siten oikein ole pitänytkään. Enkä vieläkään. Tulee aina jotenki mieleen että Prince on temu-Michael Jackson. Kuuntelusessio oli kamalaa aikaa.

Kuulosti epäilyttävästi Princeltä. Melko laidasta laitaan sekä musiikillisesti, että volyymitasolla. Mielenkiintosia Prince-juttuja ja myös vähän kulmakarvaa nostattavia lyriikoita ja muita, mut ei sillai hyvällä tavalla.

Not my style

2.5 rounded up

Prince’s masterpiece is a difficult and dense album, emotionally open and worldly aware. It was born of three projects that shifted as bands and relationships were dissolved. Proof that the very prolific artist needed an editor as the triple album he presented label was rejected and after whiddling it down to two - his most powerful and original statement was born. As usual it somehow was of the moment while incorporating the past and stretching music to the future. A touchstone and the end of an era.

At least it went by easily.

Sometimes I was like huh... I would like to just listen to Michael Jackson and might have a more fun, less f-boy/harassed-to-be-a-woman time??

Prince whines and cries at you about how sex will make this better. And he's right.

not what i expected from prince, but fun nonetheless 🙂‍↕️

Enjoyed this one! I like just having it on in the background. The songs have such an interesting vibe to them.

4,2/5

Prince is prone. Not the most gripping.

Sacando un par de canciones que me parecieron buenas, no me termino de agarrar el ritmo de las canciones

muy bueno, un rock pop muy de los 80's, muy Prince para mi gusto... muy pop. A veces no distiguis si el albun es rock and roll o Michael Jackson. Increíble el tema con que arranca el álbum, sin saber que dice la letra ya te transmite que está haciendo una crítica. Y todo el tiempo es cómo que está generando suspenso la melodía, lo que le da como un toque de epicidad constante. Tremendo para arrancar el álbum, alegre, épico... al pie. Después el resto de los temas, vários del estilo ochentoso que da ganas de bailarlos o golpear la mesa al ritmo de la percu, con esos mini solos de guitarra/trompeta en medio que te hacen sentir en volver al futuro y otros un toque más lentos o oscuros (el bajista en algunos de esos temas le pasa el trapo a Prince y al resto de la banda junta)

No

169/1001 First listen. There’s some bops on here and some bad decisions as well. Makes me want to hear Purple rain. 4/10

Love me some prince! Side two is way better imo, but the whole thing is enjoyable of course. I don't think I dislike any of his work. 7/10

Prince 👑

One of Prince’s weaker albums, but there’s still moments of genius on this. Doesn’t really have an A-Tier song, but it’s Prince so it was always going to be decent. Some tracks verge on being close to skits which I’m not into.

Clown music

For someone with his musical reputation and proven talent this should be nothing less than 4-5 * .....but really? meh, underwhelming.

Sign 'o' the times - 4 Play in the sunshine - 3 Housequake - 3 The ballad of dorothy parker - 4 It - 3 Starfish and coffee - 3 Slow love - 3 Hot Thing - 4 Forever in my life - 5 U got the look - 4 If i was your girlfriend - 3 Strange relationships - 5 I could never take the place of your man - 3 The cross - 4 It's gonna be a beautiful night - 3 Adore - 3 xx / 16

spent a lot of time on this one. while i personally don’t find it better than “Purple Rain,” “Sign ‘O’ The Times” is definitely denser and heavier. The live track was cool, ending with “Adore” is incredible, and the range Prince shows off here is truly inspiring. an amazing work of art

Awesome!

I really liked this. This really felt like a combination of all the vibes that Prince had before this album. Parts of the album may feel a little disjointed because of the amount of styles he’s going for, but I appreciated the ambition more than it bothered me. I love the more raw style of this compared to some of his other work. Definitely think it needs another listen though, especially the second half.

First listen

Obligatory double album warning. I suspect Dimery loves double albums. Title track is pretty cool. I'm grateful that Prince tried out half the 80's schtick (maybe synth can replace anything!) but not the second half (mooooar reverb!). You can sorta tell the rhythm is programmed in 'Sign 'O' The Times'. Prince is just too interesting to be bogged down by it. It helps that he's an auteur in the Hollywood sense -- capable of doing all the parts on the album himself, so his very specific vision can be reached as closely as possible; if he can't communicate an idea to a musician, he can just take over. It's worth noting that that can be a terrible curse (Todd Rundgren, I'm still holding a grudge) but, in this case, it's just a clear expression of a massive talent for interesting and engaging tunes and grooves. For the most part, after 'Housequake,' I didn't notice what I was listening to until 'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man.' Everything in between was good and I have no doubt launched countless bands but it had a more electronic bent than I love. That I found the experience pleasant is saying quite a lot and it's clear that generating music electronically wasn't a crutch or some kind of cost-saving measure by Prince. After that, 'The Cross' is great (reminds me of Wide Mouth Mason, who came long, long after). 'It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night' is beautiful. 'Adore' is pretty lovely (sounds a bit like 'Midnight Train to Georgia' in the opening). It's a very good album. You really should listen to it, at least once, just to keep experiencing all the varied stuff that this guy could produce. I don't know that this will go into everyone's regular rotation. It's a lot. Like many double albums, there's more than an album's worth of good material here but probably not two. It would've been one *hell* of a single album and accompanying outtakes release. 4/5

More than anyone possibly ever, Prince just has that "it" factor. I didn't know this album or these songs but loved it. He covers a LOT of ground musically and you can tell just has the music pouring out of him. 16 songs and over an hour 15 mins. Covers a lot of ground musically. "Housequake" was the most Missy Elliott song I've heard, not by Missy. "The Look" came out a year before the more famous "The Look" by Roxette. Very progressive yet sounded incredibly 80's. Awesome listen!

I just think this is one of the greatest albums ever. So many incredible and off the wall songs (from if I was your girlfriend to starfish and coffee to adore). My favorite Prince album and arguably his best.

I totally understand Prince it talented and loved by everyone but the majority of his music just doesn't sit well with me. It just feels disjointed and unorganized. Like all the pieces are there, but the sound mixer just did not understand that you are supposed to like music. I am just now getting to the song "Slow Love" and this is a perfect example to me of how good he could sound - the song "Starfish and Coffee" is the perfect example of a song that barely sounds like music to me - it feels like a child with an audio sample board. It's a LOW 3 for me, only because Prince carries so much weight - it could just never be a 2.

Prince, ook deze keer vind ik er niet veel aan. Misschien was het vernieuwend, misschien gooide de man zijn ziel en zaligheid erin, ik hoor vooral een boel goedkope beatjes en een mummelend stemmetje. Het pakt me gewoon niet, mag ik dat zeggen? Ja, dat mag ik zeggen. Okee, het werkt me ook niet op de zenuwen, en voor een dubbelaar blijft het afwisselend genoeg. En daarmee zwaaien we de man uit, want na drie platen uit de jaren tachtig vonden de samenstellers van dit boek het wel welletjes met zijne slechtheid.

Het album start met de titel-track. Heel erg '80's. Maar ik krijg wel zin in het album. Het ligt erg makkelijk in het gehoor. Luister ik verder dan is het album vooral niet zo interessant. Misschien is dat voor Prince wel goed. Want dat geschreeuw op Purple Rain hoef ik echt niet nog een keer te horen. Laten we het voor het album van vandaag maar positief duiden als meer balans. Maar met zo'n signatuur hoor je natuurlijk geen dubbelaar te leveren.

De derde en gelukkig laatste keer Prince in deze lijst. Om het af te leren is het wel weer een dubbelaar, dus een lange zit in het vooruitzicht met bombast en aanstellerij. Wat mij betreft is Prince zwaar overschat, misschien niet eens als artiest, want de man beheerst zijn instrument uitstekend en heeft ook voor andere artiesten wereldhits geschreven, maar het gaat mij met name om zijn eigen muziek. Het is zogezegd veelal bombast en aanstellerij en dan met die veel te drabberige jaren 80 sound eroverheen. Mijn eerdere ratings waren dan ook een 2 en een 3. Ik moet zeggen dat de bombast meevalt, het zijn meer iets rustigere en soulvolle liedjes. Er zit uiteraard wel voldoende aanstellerij bij, zoals bij If I Was Your Girlfriend krijgen we classic gilletjes en kreuntjes. Het geheel is zoals verwacht wel iets te lang, al stoor ik me er niet bijzonder aan. Het kabbelt op de achtergrond wat voort. Ik vind het een 2,5 en ik twijfel zoals gewoonlijk of ik het naar boven of naar beneden afrond. Aan de ene kant is het soms te aanstellerig, maar aan de andere kant zit er wel degelijk kwaliteit in.

5 stars for The Cross alone.

Not my favorite prince, almost a 4 though

sorry this lowkey sucks. 2.5.

not for me

Love him not my fave of his work

A perfect blend of all the studio styles and tricks they had developed up to that point. One of my favorites from the 1980s.

I enjoyed the album. There are some good songs, nice guitar solos and interesting lyrics but it was quite long and by the last couple of songs I was counting down to the finish.

Not bad, but not my vibe

There is no denying Prince was a musical genius and songwriter, but I’ve never really got into him. I like that this album is varied and has a really good production, especially for 1987. I’m just not really into any one of these songs. Which is my exact sentiments for his entire catalog. I don’t even like the song Purple Rain that much, and it’s still one of his best songs.

Funky, a good listen

I forget that some people can't listen to 80s production sounds until I read reviews on this site. I like how the 80s stands out on its own. Sometimes with certain genres it can feel like we have the 60s and 70s and then the 90s onwards looking back at those two decades. Most guitar music does that let's be honest. Prince took plenty from the 60s and 70s but made music in the 80s that was vital and utterly of its decade but also to my ears utterly timeless.

Don't think I knew a single song on here but they were all good... A little better than a 3 but that's what it gets.

omg im dreading this prince songs are all like 8 minutes long 😫😫😫 housequake genuinely just pissed me off. i saw a review mentioning how bad it is but i genuinely couldnt even expect this this + past albums just have been making me think abt how wildly overrated old music and people are blinded by nostalgia and the popular (especially 80s) songs and they talk down on modern music when in reality so much fucking old music is genuinely SO bad 😭 theres way more good modern music than there is old music on average the ballad of dorothy parker is good. lyrics are still sooo weird starfish and coffee is alright too slow love is good too! strange relationship prob my fave i actually really like it and i could never take the place of your man though i genuinely don’t know why its stretched for an extra 2 whole minutes of nothing the album has good songs but it also has like REALLY really terrible inexcusable ones 😭😭 hard to rate this one

"don't wait for yo neighbour! green eggs and ham!" Didn't take Prince as an avid Dr. Seuss reader. He also says sixty-seven, which is really funny. Prince is hip with the kids. Fav Song: Slow Love Least Fav: Hot Thing

Classic Prince by The Funky One.

Prince is just not for me :/

Prince still just doesn’t do it for me

classic

not amazing

Some great songs. Some terrible songs.

4.5/5, only because the album could've used a few cuts. Otherwise, a nearly perfect album. You can hear early influences here for 80s/90s techno, the 90s R&B craze, and OutKast. The final three tracks are the cherry on top of what you can tell is a work of pure love

There's so much going on in this album. The androgynous ambiguity, the sparse electronic production, the constant shifting between genres: pop, R&B, rock, gospel, psychedelia, soul and, of course, funk. Even as a double album running over an hour, it's still a lot to pack in. Watching the concert film alongside it adds yet another layer. The suggestive sexuality, the flashes of James Brown in his dance moves, and the overall flamboyant musical theatre nuttiness of the narrative. There's a serious smack of 80s tackiness and excess too of course, but Prince’s music somehow always overcomes that. He’s completely uncompromising, fully committed to his vision. The result is a messy funk odyssey. I particularly loved a few songs over others. “Starfish and Coffee” for its catchy melody and folky harmonies. “Forever in my Life” for the association of the absolutely stellar live performance in the movie, even more so than the album version. What a vocal performance! And “The Cross” for the rock anthem that it delivers. But it’s the title track that stands out the most. It’s absolutely amazing. It’s crazy how much he achieves with such a minimal electronic setup. It’s stripped back and refined, with those amazing guitar skills lurking, buried in the background. The lyrical content is dark and depressing as hell, but the catchiness of the tune means you almost don’t notice the darkness of the themes. It’s definitely one of the best songs of his entire career. A lot of people consider this Prince’s best album, even over “Purple Rain”. I wouldn’t go that far. It’s got some great moments, but it’s messy and a lot to take at times. If anything, pairing it with the concert film helps bring it into focus, showing the unbelievable musical abilities of Prince, hidden beneath all the layers of that funky chaos.

Probably my favorite Prince album. A bit more downbeat but that kind of carries it and makes it better to listen to

I really wanted to like it but actually just didn’t? Just too heavy on the drum machines for me. Still I appreciate its pioneering and the influence of Prince and new concepts with gender etc.

listening to this album was like watching the office for the first time and spotting all the memes & soundbites in real time. i constantly kept going 'this was what lady gaga was trying to do on that one song' 'didnt daft punk sample that?' 'is this where tyler the creator got that shtick from?' i do also hear a lot of crossover with the jacksons to be fair - michael but more specifically janet (& i think control was released slightly before this album?). & of course callbacks to both rock n roll and earlier electronic music which were fun all in all v much enjoyed the album. what a banger!! didn't even feel long, for other albums an hour 20 runtime would annoy me SO much. it had so much variety that it didn't bore me. only drawback was that it had the misfortune of being produced in the late 80s, which is the achilles heel of many great albums

this was just ok

It didn’t blow me away, but I have been meaning to actually listen to Prince and after listening I’m sure I can find some more of his work that I’ll like a lot

I can appreciate this but it’s not something that I’d go back to.

It’s Prince!

This was rather enjoyable, but I don't think any single song stood out to me.

Prince was a romantic, genderfluid and talented guy. Fav track: If I Was Your Girlfriend

Ok

Not his best but still better than the rest

Lite väl sliskiga texter, men det svänger ju.

ÄNTLIGEN! Vad skriver man ens om ett sånt här mästerverk? Han är som en översexuell, dvärgväxt pastor som bara messar funkens gospel. Här finns alla Prince-lägen representerade - grisig funk, smäktande falsett-soul, 10/10-pop/rock-hits, kvinnliga alteregot Camille, ljuvligt gitarrspel. Titelspåret är en av mina absoluta favoritlåtar någonsin, the ballad of dorothy parker är 30 år före sin tid och så har vi SMUTSET i housequake?! Snusket i Hot thing?! Också otroligt svag för (den märkligt garage-mixade) ”the cross”. Han har nog aldrig sjungit så bra. Kan bli kristen för mindre. Inte en dålig sekund på knappt en timme och tjugo minuter. 5a räcker inte.

Farsan brukar ofta stressa om när han var på Prince på typ globen efter att han släppt den här plattan. Första delen bagisk, andra fylld av "fruktansvärt Jesuspredikande" haha oooch sista delen bagisk igen. Asså det var kanske lite christian rock-feeling men tror han är bränd och överskattat mängden i efterhand. Eller så var liveframträdandet mer missionerande, vem vet! Oavsett - mäktigt 😎

Mycket härligt när man får kliva in i princes värld. Som min polare Freddi sa: Bra mix men kanske sämsta nivåerna på mastern någonsin?

good

Absolutely what I needed today, this week, this month, this year, this administration. Holds up incredibly well for a record that (at the time) was a departure for Prince. Incredible songs, and incredible production.

I assume there’s more to come….

I can't stand Prince. He's a creepy little fucker. This was terrible. I just don't get it at all. Lyrically and musically complete trash

Mad respect for Prince and his contribution to music. His influence is everywhere and his talent is undeniable. None of these songs are my favorites of his, but if the people love it I get it.

8/10

Wide-ranging, funky, a new musical style

absolute baller of a time with this. need to listen to more of prince

Didn’t finish. Not my style, found it a bit repetitive at times.

As a songwriter, Prince is maddeningly inconsistent. I wanted to like this album, but there are just a lot of clunkers in here. The high points like I Could Never and The Cross are great nonetheless.

This is a hard one for me to rate, because I appreciate the musicianship, some of the songs that really stand out, and the subtleties of the rest of the album. However, overall, on a first listen, I heard more of what some people have been saying since this album came out, that it feels a little "all over the place" with a lot of songs that almost feel incomplete. I don't actually think they re incomplete, but I just think that it didn't need to be a double-album. I think that if he would have trimmed it down, it would have been more cohesive and felt amazing. However, it doesn't feel significant enough with some of the songs and the presentation. For example, the second to last song that is live and is way too long for a double-disc, in my opinion.

Stretching this over two discs transforms it from something merely irritating into a form of audible torture. Overrated dreck

A brilliant masterpiece that stays engaging despite its massive runtime and a few dated 1980s synth choices. Prince’s ability to jump between futuristic funk and vocal experimentation is staggering, and the crystal-clear production on the mid and high frequencies is a masterclass in mixing. This record is so technically and artistically dense that even its minor flaws feel irrelevant compared to its overall genius.

I was very young in the 80s, so I missed a lot of the pop music in the moment, though I do have a lot of respect for Prince. The heavy production and use of synth sounds isn't really my thing, but what I did like about this album is that it feels representative of the time. You can hear the influences across genres: you hear back beats, you hear hip hop influences, obvious pop influences. You can also tell Prince has a Thom Yorke-like control on the compositions. Everything is deliberately chosen. With all that said, the first few tracks just felt way too busy for me. Things turned a corner around starfish and coffee & slow love, where we got into even more influences, especially the Soul influence in Slow Love. Overall, interesting mix of Genres, but I never really felt captured by the album. Not my favourite Prince album but not terrible. Top songs: 1. Starfish and coffee 2. Slow love

The best album from tafkap symbol or just prince

I really tried, really I did, but I just do *not* like Prince. This was so incredibly hard to get through. I feel like I blacked out for part of it.

Pretty good, enjoyed the second half a bit more

Don't think I know any songs from this album oddly. Weird album. Not sure why it's the Prince one chosen.

Not my Prince, not a very pleasant listen.

This album has forced me to ask a question that I'm surprised to be faced with: "Is Prince overrated?" His hits are fantastic, but he may be one of the most extreme cases from this list where an artist (and therefore his albums) was carried by his hits. It's surprising, and borderline shocking, that the Wikipedia page not only states this is widely regarded as his best album, but highly acclaimed in pop music as a whole.

I can see the appeal here but it didn't get above 3 in my mind and with the length, was leaning in the 2 direction. Given how insanely famous he is, I'm surprised to have not known almost any of this album.

Good

I think this is the first time I'm listening to this album start-to-finish, though there's a bunch of singles on here that I'm pretty familiar with. This may not be my favorite Prince album, but it's still pretty darn good.

Prince's magnum opus is a juggernaut of a record. I'm still finding lots of new things to be enthralled by. Wish I had more time to write about this one today.

Bangers.

I was excited when I saw I got recommended an album by Prince, and definitely expected more than normal. Is this a bad album? Not at all. Does this album sound like it’s from the 80s? Yes. This album is pretty consistent, and doesn’t switch up constantly. Favorite song: The Cross

My feelings on Prince tracks are as varied as the tracks themselves. I really appreciate the variety that he throws in here, and in general I liked many of the slower tracks, but there are definitely several songs on this album that completely lost me. And it’s a pretty long album. The highlight for me was probably the title track.

6.5/10 Nice album

Would’ve been better if it was shorter

Some good, some not so good. Very typical Prince albums for me.

I expected a bit more tbh

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS ALBUM. SO fun! Kept me pumped up while working. I absolutely LOVE purple rain so I had high hopes but this album is so good

8.5/10

I was excited to get a Prince Album, but this was very mid.

lbum #38, Prince, Sign o' the Times ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ How could you not be bowled over by this? This is easily the best new discovery I’ve had so far. Outside of the album Purple Rain, I’ve never actually listened to Prince. So it was pretty eye-opening. This isn’t usually my kind of thing. I like soul, but I’m more of an old folky and punk kind of guy. But the quality of the music here, the inventiveness, and the consistency across such a diversity of genres and styles is incredible. I adore the minimalism. How he got such a great pop sound from so little on some of these tracks is beggars belief. It's all tied together by his voice. Is this the best use of multi-layered vocals in music? The way he sings and harmonises along with himself is just so creative. The one thing that isn't consistent is the mix, but I love the more lo-fi/demo sounding songs like Play in the Sunshine and It. It just works! The album moves through style after style, it goes from strength to strength. The last run of songs are the best on the album, but by the time I got there I was already completely won over anyway, so it really just sealed it. It deserves all its critical acclaim. I can’t get over this one. It's an 80 minute long album and I listened to it twice back to back. This is going to be in my rotation for a long time to come.